and Randy does it again!...

[boxingcar]

I predicted gonzaga to win this one and i was dead wrong.
i'm kinda disappointed.
not that i hate couture or anything but i really wanted to see a rematch between crocop and gonzaga. (if he wins against his next opponent though)...

so what's next?
Couture vs Nogueira?

that would be cool but Nog looked like shit against Herring...i wonder if he's the same anymore...

IMO....the best solution for Dana white and Couture...
would be to have the winner of the Kongo vs crocop fight , become "the" next contender for the belt...

Because i seriously doubt that we'll ever see Mr Emelianenko inside the octagon.

But...if somehow...they'd find a way to make it happen...
it would surely be fucking HUGE!....

[achillesthegreat]

I said it was 50-50 and size v skill. Yet again Couture shows he is just too skilled.

[AJAX]

CC is done if he's get's by Kongo, which I'm not sure he would, Couture takes him out of his element and beats him easily, the chances CC lands a big head kick or punches for the win is slim. Randy would come to that fight with another perfect gameplan and beat CC

[boxingcar]

CC is done if he's get's by Kongo, which I'm not sure he would, Couture takes him out of his element and beats him easily, the chances CC lands a big head kick or punches for the win is slim. Randy would come to that fight with another perfect gameplan and beat CC

IF...crocop can come at the top of his game.
(not the guy who fought randleman and gonzaga)...

Couture is fucked.

But i think crocop's career is over. and i wouldn't be surprised to see him lose again...He can't be trusted.

[Tko4]

IF...crocop can come at the top of his game.
(not the guy who fought randleman and gonzaga)...

Couture is fucked.

But i think crocop's career is over. and i wouldn't be surprised to see him lose again...He can't be trusted.

I'm Cro Cop's biggest fan, but I do not like his chances against Couture at this point. Couture, to me, looks better than he ever has.

[jimmie]

I'm Cro Cop's biggest fan, but I do not like his chances against Couture at this point. Couture, to me, looks better than he ever has.

Yeah he looks amazing even his boxing is extrodinary considering his age and background in MMA hes never been a striker.

[boxingcar]

I'm Cro Cop's biggest fan, but I do not like his chances against Couture at this point. Couture, to me, looks better than he ever has.

you're probably a bigger fan of his than i am...But i'm being realistic.
If "the" crocop actually decides to show up at the top of his game..
couture would get demolished in no time...

You're talking about the guy who got beat up twice by Liddell here..
the guy who was struggling (in his prime) against the likes of Rizzo...who got beat at his own game against Barnett...and i'm not gonna bother talking about his other losses (especially the very first ones) cause he wasn't as experienced as he was in his prime...

but the point is...i'll never change my opinion on this issue...
His win agains Sylvia indicates nothing much (sylvia sucks...he's just big).

Of course i'm saying all this and yet crocop got totally owned by the already overrated Gonzaga...(people were already giving this guy more chances to beat fedor than anyone else...)...yet they forget that it's the same guy who got beat up by Werdum in 2003..

Kongo vs crocop will be the moment of truth...
either crocop's career totally goes to the shitter...

or the guy comes as prepared as he was in 2005....
IF and only IF...this version of crocop shows up...Couture is finished.

But for the moment...
all i can say is congrats to the old man for being the warrior that he is...

[El Presidente]

Randy is the american dream lmao

[Tko4]

you're probably a bigger fan of his than i am...But i'm being realistic.
If "the" crocop actually decides to show up at the top of his game..
couture would get demolished in no time...

You're talking about the guy who got beat up twice by Liddell here..
the guy who was struggling (in his prime) against the likes of Rizzo...who got beat at his own game against Barnett...and i'm not gonna bother talking about his other losses (especially the very first ones) cause he wasn't as experienced as he was in his prime...

but the point is...i'll never change my opinion on this issue...
His win agains Sylvia indicates nothing much (sylvia sucks...he's just big).

Of course i'm saying all this and yet crocop got totally owned by the already overrated Gonzaga...(people were already giving this guy more chances to beat fedor than anyone else...)...yet they forget that it's the same guy who got beat up by Werdum in 2003..

Kongo vs crocop will be the moment of truth...
either crocop's career totally goes to the shitter...

or the guy comes as prepared as he was in 2005....
IF and only IF...this version of crocop shows up...Couture is finished.

But for the moment...
all i can say is congrats to the old man for being the warrior that he is...
I always thought Couture was a great matchup for Cro Cop, much like Coleman turned out to be. But the aging Couture suddenly got much, much better, and you need to take into account the cage. I didn't initially understand how much it changes things for fighters coming from Pride and how easily Couture can use it to his advatage. He's a monster in the clinch against it.

Cro Cop, on his game, is a beast, and that's what I love about him. The guy's an amazing striker. But sadly, I don't really remember what that version of him is like because he looked very, very human in his last bout. And lately, Couture has looked like a beast. Hopefully Cro Cop gets his game back...because I miss the striking machine.

That image of him getting KOed is still fresh in my mind though, and it's not a pretty sight. The night that happened my stomach just dropped. It was absolutely stunning...and not in a good way.

[Donut62]

I'm Cro Cop's biggest fan, but I do not like his chances against Couture at this point. Couture, to me, looks better than he ever has.


Couture to me right now is the number one heavyweight in the world. Fedor hasn't beaten a guy ranked in the top 5 or 6 for what, 2 years now? Randy just busted out two in a row. I still think Fedor is the best fighter on the planet but his inactivity has caught up to him in how I rank fighters for the time being.


If the Mirko that epicly fucked up Barnett and Wandy in about 9 minutes shows up for a fight with Randy, to me it's the biggest fight since Fedor-Cro Cop. The only thing better would be Fedor-Couture but that doesn't look like it will happen.

[Beebs]

you're probably a bigger fan of his than i am...But i'm being realistic.
If "the" crocop actually decides to show up at the top of his game..
couture would get demolished in no time...

You're talking about the guy who got beat up twice by Liddell here..
the guy who was struggling (in his prime) against the likes of Rizzo...who got beat at his own game against Barnett...and i'm not gonna bother talking about his other losses (especially the very first ones) cause he wasn't as experienced as he was in his prime...



So you're taking the best example of CroCop, and a less than prime version of Randy who was facing an opponent who was proven to be on steroids at the time?

CroCop himself has lost to a 205er in Randleman, and if not for the special distance=tie rule he would have lost to Wanderlei Silva too.

I just don't think its fair to compare the best version of Mirko with the non best version of Couture.

Plus if Couture got to fight the gauntlet of japanese 185lber's, pro wrestlers, general no-hopers, and freakshows as Fedor and CroCop did, he could built up a better percentage too.

[achillesthegreat]

What's wrong is Randy hasn't lost a round in his last two fights!

[ufoalf]

So, umm, whats Couture's prime? IMHO right now is as prime as he's ever been.

[boxingcar]

So you're taking the best example of CroCop, and a less than prime version of Randy who was facing an opponent who was proven to be on steroids at the time?

CroCop himself has lost to a 205er in Randleman, and if not for the special distance=tie rule he would have lost to Wanderlei Silva too.

I just don't think its fair to compare the best version of Mirko with the non best version of Couture.

Plus if Couture got to fight the gauntlet of japanese 185lber's, pro wrestlers, general no-hopers, and freakshows as Fedor and CroCop did, he could built up a better percentage too.

Come on...be serious for a moment here.
Let's talk about "no hopers"....

Couture vs Enson (in japan)
Couture lost in less than 2 minutes & got armbared...

Now , Enson's got a huge heart...but it's not like he was the god of mma or anything... you've seen his fight against Igor vovchanchyn right?...Sure , he's fucking courageous but also fucking far from being a GOAT.
here are his stats
[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Couture vs Illoukhine (in japan)
[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Couture vs Valentijn ( again , in japan)
Couture lost in less than a minute...
against Overeem's brother
[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Couture's 1rst tree loses all took place in japan against nobodies..
You can argue and say that Couture wasn't the same back then , which is true...
but hey...at least the guy had a greco roman wrestling background..

when crocop gave mma a try , he was just a pure kickboxer , nothing more..If you look at crocop's first 5 fights...He already had to face opponents like
Fujita
Silva
Sakuraba...

Maybe his first fight vs Fujita was a fluke..(or not)...but the point is , at the time...Fujita wasn't your average "japanese can"...Fujita is not perfect either..but already had a solid win against Kerr...

Against Silva...well , like couture...crocop wasn't as experienced...the fight ended up as a "draw"...some can argue and say that silva should've won the decision , plus they had modified rules but the point is that for a beginner...it still was quite impressive.
Silva already had 6 years of experience behind him...and a total of 23 fights on his record at the time...

Against Sakuraba...
Ok , so saku was the smaller opponent...but again , he wasn't just anybody...he used to be one of the biggest thing in mma history back then....prior to his fight against crocop the guy had 7 years of experience...he had his ups and downs but also had solid victories against bigger guys such as Belfort , Jackson , vernon...he also was extremely experienced on the ground ...& killed the gracie myth.

Imo , 3 huge tests for a mere kickboxer...
Remember all these fights took place between 2001 & 2002...

WHAT IF? Couture had to fight these types of opponents in the beginning of his career?...what would've happened?...
well , no one fucking knows but we do know that the guy lost his 3 first fights in japan , against lesser skilled opponents.

Look , Crocop had his share of cans..but don't make it sound as if this guy's career was jus based on fighting no hopers either..

I'm not trying to shit on couture's legacy or anything...
I like the guy...way more than Chuck...but at the same time..
i can't lie to myself here...

Filipovic ain't the terminator or anything...
and he can surely be a major disappointement...(his fights against Hunt , randleman , gonzaga and even Kanehara are perfect examples)..

But when that guy is fully prepared & taking his opponents seriously...he's fucking scary...Gonzaga is a joke compared to that guy.

gonzaga's win was as relevant as Hasim's win against Lennox Lewis.

Shit happens...
it happened in 2004 against Randleman...but let's not forget that heconvincingly won his fucking rematch in less than a minute.

I'm sorry but as impressive as couture is (especially at his age)...i see his victories as nothing more than good timing...
a great opportunist...

Sylvia sucks...(ultra overrated...and boring and slow)...
Gonzaga is a one trick pony...
you've seen his fight vs couture right?...he tried to pull the same shit he did against mirko , several times there too..

Gonzaga , like Kevin randleman...totally dominated crocop...
both are dominant in a particular discipline...
kev = wrestling
gonzaga = bjj...

both defeated him at his own game..
(only kev used his left hook)...

gonzaga's win was even more absurd...(via highkick)...
whether these wins are flukes or not is irrelevant..
what i do know , is that the guy i saw in K1 and against fedor..would've murdered both...

crocop wasn't labeled mma's #2 HW for nothing you know..
(even though he never had his rematch against nogueira).

If crocop decides to do a killing...no one will stop him and he'll win this fucking belt...if he doesn't....his career will end up in the shitter...and chances are he'll even lose his next fight against Kongo..

[achillesthegreat]

So, umm, whats Couture's prime? IMHO right now is as prime as he's ever been.
I agree. He has become a better fighter.

Physically, he was obviously better when he was younger but like X and Lewis in boxing he was just so experienced and smart when he got older.

I still think Couture is defying father time way too much. Even when boxers have got old and been successful, they've still looked old, even guys like Hopkins.

Couture will still FIGHT and HARD!

[safe_pa]

Randy deserves huge respect! As a fighter he is always improving, I thought he showed real boxing skills this weekend, He is in very good shape for his age and anyone who talks shit about him is ignorant.

[Beebs]

Couture vs Illoukhine (in japan)
[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Couture vs Valentijn ( again , in japan)
Couture lost in less than a minute...
against Overeem's brother
[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Couture's 1rst tree loses all took place in japan against nobodies..
You can argue and say that Couture wasn't the same back then , which is true...
but hey...at least the guy had a greco roman wrestling background.

It was in RINGS, where Randy couldnt GnP, which was at that point his only game. And Overeem was considered the next big thing at that point

[achillesthegreat]

It was in RINGS, where Randy couldnt GnP, which was at that point his only game. And Overeem was considered the next big thing at that point
So it was just stand up? Back in the day Overeem had some ok stand up.

[Beebs]

So it was just stand up? Back in the day Overeem had some ok stand up.

Couldn't GnP to the head, it was like Pancrase sort of.

[oblate]

CC is done if he's get's by Kongo, which I'm not sure he would, Couture takes him out of his element and beats him easily, the chances CC lands a big head kick or punches for the win is slim. Randy would come to that fight with another perfect gameplan and beat CC
i don't think so. gonzaga was able to land a few shots and some unclean kicks to the head. cro cop is lighter on his feet and would have an easier chance to stay away from the clinch and would knock couture out.